Jimmie Johnson is a true American hero, a NASCAR legend with his own chapter in the sport’s history. Born and bred in California, he was racing bikes, buggies and trucks in the desert when he was still in school and had a Chevrolet contract as a teenager. His dream was IndyCar but Chevy steered him towards North Carolina and NASCAR where he was immediately quick on asphalt, right at home in the big saloons. A long and stable relationship with Chevy and the Hendrick team brought him seven NASCAR Cups, five of them consecutively, equalling the record set by Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, and two wins at the Daytona 500. Two years in IndyCar with Chip Ganassi proved a tough challenge and now JJ has set his race suit aside (mostly) as joint owner of the Legacy Motor Club NASCAR team, running Toyotas in the Cup series next year.
Jimmie looks back on a stellar career and ahead to a new challenge.
Motor Sport: You started out racing motorcycles as a kid. Was that ever a career path for you?
Jimmie Johnson: Not really. My parents became concerned at how injury-prone I was, so with all the injuries and a big commitment from my family, we decided to move away from the bikes when I was about 14.
The energy and commitment that motorcycle racing required really helped me understand the discipline you needed, mentally and physically, to jump all the obstacles in motor sport and those lessons carried forward into my four-wheeled career. At first it was off-road, sports desert buggies,
